Sarchí

I've been to Sarchí a number of times now because it's part of the retreat, but Dad and the girls never had. It's a nice little half-day trip.

We went to the oxcart factory to order a chess set for...umm...what was his name again, Sandy? Anyway, for him.

This is the oldest, or the original, or the some-other-really-authentic-superlative oxcart factory in Sarchí, the town known for its oxcarts and other crafts.


It was established in the 1920s, and most of their tools are still powered by this waterwheel:

(See?)


Guido is our favorite artist there. Here he is with the chess board in question. He hasn't put the legs on it yet, but the top is all finished.


And he got out the pieces for us to see as well. They made those too. (That's a different board they're set up on, by the way.)




I wrote down all the different kinds of wood - the board includes Melina, Cenízaro, Nazareno, Guanacaste and Ronron, and the pieces are Cocobola and Guaichipelín. (Aren't you glad I asked?)

Guido was really nice to the girls, and we came away with a plastic bag full of wood scraps for them to play with at home.